Sisters By Choice, Sisters By Blood
by xoxoChairGossipxoxo
Summary: Emma is not the only child of Snow White and Prince Charming raised an orphan. However her older sister Sierra wasn't given up for the greater good but stolen from her crib during the war with King George and the Evil Queen and left in the middle of the Enchanted Forest. She led a different life than her sister and then the curse came...
1. Becoming Sierra Cassidy

**Summary: Emma is not the only child of Snow White and Prince Charming raised an orphan. However her older sister Sierra wasn't given up for the greater good but stolen from her crib during the war with King George and the Evil Queen and left in the middle of the Enchanted Forest. She led a different life than her sister and then the curse came...**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters and sadly not Colin O'Donoghue.**

It had been a year since Snow White had been married to her Prince Charming in front of his mother by their friend Lancelot. Snow had explained to David the sacrifice that his mother had made so that they could have children in their future. Little did they know how soon in the future that would be, 5 months later Snow realised she hadn't bled in two months but the distraction on war with King George and the Evil Queen had distracted her. They went to a healer only to discover she was indeed about 2 months pregnant.

Struggling with war and travelling while pregnant was difficult but when Snow's water broke they managed to find a quiet place for her to give birth. That's what was happening now, Snow was holding her husband's hand as Doc encouraged her to push.

"AHH!" Snow let out a scream while she pushed, she'd been out of action during the fighting for four months, she'd complained about not helping but now she was glad. She didn't think she'd have to energy to give birth if she'd fought as well.

"You're doing great Snow! Just a few more pushes and our son will be here" David encouraged and if she wasn't in pain she would have laughed. Snow had never corrected him on the fact that the way the necklace swung meant she was having a girl.

"One more big push should do it" Doc explained just as another contraction hit and Snow felt the urge to push, letting out another scream she pushed harder and her scream was followed by silence and then a small cry as Snow slumped back in relief and David let out a laugh.

Doc wrapped the baby up, "It's a girl" he said handing her to Snow.

"A girl?" David sounded shocked and Snow started chuckling.

"I didn't have the heart to correct you" Snow laughed and the baby mewled at the shaking.

David looked amused and shook his head "You're so sneaky," he said before taking the babies small hand "Your mother is so sneaky" David shook her hand. Before looking at Snow "She going to look like you Snow" he brushed back the thin black hairs on his daughters head.

Snow shook her head "No, she has my hair but she takes after you, she looks a little like your mother actually" she told him "Would you like to hold our daughter?"

Reaching forward, David took the small baby and held her close "Hey baby girl, I'm your papa. You're very beautiful and very tiny" he spoke to her gently. Cradling her closer to him he looked to Snow, "What are we going to call her?"

"Well, I was thinking about Tamsin" Snow suggested and David nodded.

Smiling down at his daughter "How do you like that hmm? Tamsin sound good to you?" he asked and the baby gurgled and Snow laughed.

"I think she agrees" Snow rubbed her daughters cheek, eyes opening and revealing the bright blue eyes that she got from her father "Our Princess Tamsin".

 _8 weeks later..._

Snow was back in action 2 months later, David disagreed to her joining the fighting so soon from giving birth but Snow was determined. They had help of friends they trusted who didn't fight to care for Tamsin when they were fighting but both would prefer that the war was already over. Tamsin was so young and all the moving around and fighting was risky. They didn't want to leave her without parents but there was only one way to end this and that was by winning.

Currently Snow was humming a song to Tamsin walking back and forth trying to get her to sleep, the child just kept giggling and kicking her legs making Snow smile at the energetic baby.

"You're just not ready to say goodbye to the day, are you Tamsin?" she asked and the baby laughed grabbing one of her curls "Yeah, it's the same as yours isn't it?" she spoke softly and Tamsin babbled as if agreeing with her.

"She still not sleeping?" David asked and Snow shook her head smiling.

"She usually falls asleep in her papa's arms, you always hold her until she falls asleep" she stated and David smiled taking Tamsin from Snow and she let out a little squeal and giggle.

David kissed her head "Were you waiting for me my little Princess" he said holding her too him. Snow smiled at the interaction between father and daughter. There was a peaceful silence between the small family, however it did not last long.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" came a shout from outside the tent and David and Snow looked at each other as Granny came into the tent.

"King George's men have breached the camp" she stated taking Tamsin from David as Snow grabbed her arrows and David his sword "I'll protect the little one, go on and lead your people" Granny stated putting the child in her cradle and sitting in front of the tent with her crossbow ready.

The Charming's ran from the tent trusting the older woman to protect their daughter as they went to defend their camp.

Granny sat near the cradle ready to defend the Princess as the sounds of fighting came from outside. The angry sounds of fighting and the sudden feeling of being taken from her parents arms made the small baby begin to cry. The screaming continued for a long time before Granny decided to try and comfort the baby and stop her from crying.

"It's alright little princess, you'll all be safe, you and your parents" Granny comforted taking the child's small hand in hers and shaking it. The tiny fist wrapped around Grannies finger and her screams began to quiet to shuddering sobs and whines.

"I wouldn't be too sure about her safety" a cold voice said and Granny turned around seeing nothing but a shadow in the dark but too late as she was shot in the leg with an arrow. Removing it she realised it was silver tipped before she passed out.

Stepping out into the light revealed the shadow to be King George, stepping towards the cradle quickly he lifted the baby from the cradle and instantly the baby began screaming again, as if sensing the danger. The men in the camp were a distraction, most of them probably wouldn't make it back but George didn't care. He was going to take David's legacy and heir as David had done to him. Sneaking out the back before the Charming's realised that there certainly wasn't enough men for an attack and something more suspicious was going on.

Getting onto his horse, he rode out of there fast before he could get caught. Once he was far enough away he turned directions and rode away from where his camp was located to the darker parts of the enchanted forest. This area was said to be filled with the darkest creatures imaginable and that was where George was planning to abandon the child. He doubted the babe would last any longer than a few minutes in this section of the forest with the vile animals inside especially with all the crying.

After travelling through the forest for 2 hours, King George set the baby in the forest and walked away. He didn't feel any remorse for leaving the defenceless child, in fact, he felt pride at finally being able to extract some vengeance on the Sheppard. He was no Prince, and his daughter would never be a Princess.

"David what are we going to do!" Snow cried holding the cream blanket with the mint green lace and stitching, the name Tamsin embroidered on it.

"We'll find her Snow, we have people out there looking for her right now. I'm about to go join them," David said, his voice cracked slightly trying to hold in the pain. He could barely think about it, their daughter, their baby girl, separated from them, alone and afraid. David had no idea what they were planning with her and the thought of all the possibilities scared him "We'll find our Tamsin, she'll be safe. She's our daughter, she'll be a survivor".

Snow shook her head "Why didn't I just stay with her? Instead of fighting, I shouldn't have been so stubborn-"

"Snow!" David interrupted "You can't blame yourself for this, we were purposely distracted. This was planned! Granny is one of the best people to look after her while we're fighting, she has senses that can see anyone trying to sneak up on her and unfortunately someone figured that out and disguised themselves. It's how I know it was planned, but we'll find her, I'll find her. Just like you, I'll always find her" David explained resting a hand on her face "I don't know how long it'll take, but I will find her".

Sniffling, Snow nodded "I know you will, and your right, she'll be alive. No child of ours would go down so easy. We just need to have hope that we'll find her quickly" she stated.

David nodded as someone came in to say that their search party was leaving, to cover more ground both Snow and David were going with two separate groups. Kissing his wife on the head and putting a hand on the soft cotton blanket, David turned and left the room determined to find her.

After he was gone, Snow let more tears fall down her face and the sobs began. Granny felt guilty, but as much as Snow wanted someone to blame she couldn't find it in herself to blame the older woman. David was right, it had been planned to work against them, but when Snow got her daughter back she wouldn't let her out of her sight again. Raising the blanket to her nose she inhaled the baby and forest like smell that ultimately reminded her of her daughter. Crying into the blanket, Snow felt her heart clench of her daughter not being safe and warm in her arms.

She'd been crying for what felt like hours but was probably minutes as she felt arms wrap around her and pull her close. Rubbing her back to comfort her, Snow noticed the warm voice of her best friend and the god mother to her daughter.

"I'm so sorry, Snow, we'll find her" Red told her.

Snow nodded and sniffed loudly "You didn't pick up a scent?" she asked.

Red shook her head, "No, whoever took her, masked both of their scents". Snow sighed disappointed but she stood up.

"Well, I'm not going to find her sitting about doing nothing" Snow said determinedly before getting up "Let's go out and cover more ground".

Rising from her seat Red followed her. Snow would find her daughter, she had to.

* * *

Robin had been on the run for a while, he'd had a close call with his last robbery. He needed to get as far from them as possible and the people had chased him on their horses. Luckily enough he'd found one along the way and 'borrowed' it. Robin had managed to lose them in the darkest part of the enchanted forest and was making his way back when he heard it.

The wailing of a small child. Taking his horse he walked in the direction of the crying, looking around he eventually located the direction of the crying. The child was hidden from view by some sort of beast however and reacting quickly Robin got his bow ready, removed an arrow and shot the beast just as it had raised its claw to silence what would have probably been its next meal.

Getting off the horse Robin corrected his cloak making his way over to the child. Looking down he saw it was a small baby girl, she couldn't have been anymore than a few months and appeared to be cold and abandoned. Taking off his cloak, Robin leant down and picked up the baby swaddling her in the warmth of his cloak and cradling her close to his chest to warm her up. Robin knew he needed to get her out of the dark forest, it was too dangerous for a baby to be here and it was cold, she was probably hungry too so he would need to find a wet nurse.

It was a cruel fate for any parent to abandon their child in the dark forest, no child under any circumstances should have been left to the cold and wilderness to die. Robin instantly got on his horse and took off in the direction of where his merry men were camping.

The opposite direction of Snow White and Prince Charming's camp.

* * *

"What are we going to do with a baby!"

"I don't know, but I'm not leaving her in one of those awful houses for children, you just saw the conditions and the treatment" Robin told the merry men "We've looked after her for the last few weeks, what's the harm in keeping her around?" he asked.

Little John snorted "How about the fact that none of us know how to look after a baby?" he suggested with the agreement of a lot of the men.

Robin shrugged "Nobody does at the start, we'll learn, I don't think we've done too badly so far" he said, the other men who had agreed with him about keeping her shouted their approval of the statement.

"That's three weeks Robin, keeping her is a lot more care needed," Little John explained "I'm just trying to look at this reasonably, we know nothing about babies, we're a bunch of thieves who are constantly on the run, that's not good for a baby".

"T'be fair, the conditions yer thinkin' about leavin' 'er in isn't great either mate" Will Scarlett added in.

Little John threw his hands up "I'm not saying we should leave her at the children's home, but how is running around with us good for her? Convince me why we should keep her instead of finding her a better home?" he asked.

Robin shrugged "We can be her home, she's one of us. I know it" he explained.

Little John watched as Robin looked at the little girl in his arms who kept reaching up to grab his hair or face. Instantly he knew the problem "You grew attached to her didn't you?"

Robin looked up "She's pretty adorable".

Little John started laughing "So I guess we should name the first merry women then?"

"I kind of already did" Robin said and Little John snorted.

"Of course you did".

* * *

 _5 years later_

"Sierra!"

The giggles of the small child sitting in the tree carried down to the man looking around worriedly for her. Looking up Robin saw the five year old sitting on one of the high branches laughing and hugging the tree so she wouldn't fall.

"Sierra get down from there" Robin called as the little girl smiled.

"I can't" she replied.

Robin laughed "You got yourself stuck?" he asked and she giggled

"Yep, I need help" Sierra shouted back to him and Robin chuckled.

Robin didn't know how he was supposed to get her down, there weren't a lot of branches to hold onto to climb and he didn't want to risk her falling when they were coming back down. In fact, Robin didn't really know how Sierra had managed to get up there.

"Sierra, how did you get stuck in the tree?" he asked

Sierra bit her tongue as she thought about it "Well, I was thinking of a good place to hide, and I wanted to hide in the tree and then there was a blue cloud and I was in the tree" Sierra explained and Robin and the few merry men that were around looked confused as the young child giggled again.

"Magic", Marian said in a whisper as she walked up to Robin. They had married a short while ago, Marian had fit in immediately, especially with Sierra. Sierra adored Marian and Marian loved Sierra too. She believed there was something special about the energetic little girl and she was correct apparently.

"We can't be sure of that until we get her down from there safely" Robin said and Marian nodded as they looked back up to the girl.

Little John came forward with a wooden ladder a few minutes later "While you stand about thinking, I get stuff done" he joked as he put the ladder up against the tree and Sierra began to climb down, jumping onto Little John when she got down far enough who grabbed her quickly so she didn't fall.

Sierra had a big grin on her face as she chattered away to Little John who walked towards them. Robin instantly took her from him pulling her into a large hug and kissing her head before looking at Little John and Marian. They knew that this trick was something they would have to keep an eye on.

Over the next few months Sierra had shown more and more signs of magic. Lifting things that were far away from her, making flowers bloom and age, teleporting during games of hide and seek. While these were some of the calmer times, whenever she had tantrums or got upset, as young children did, Sierra's magic would be wild and sometimes dangerous to herself and others because she didn't know how to control it. Raising Sierra had got a bit more stressful and Robin and the merry men, as well as Marian didn't know how to handle it. It wasn't long after they discovered Sierra's magic that they discovered that Marian was pregnant. Raising the 5 year old sorceress as well as dealing with the pregnancy was becoming difficult and they needed to figure out a way to help Sierra with her magic fast.

"I don't know what to do, we don't want her to fear her magic-"

"But it is too dangerous to have her around the baby if she can't learn to control it Robin" Marian explained rubbing her husband's back as he sat hunched over with his head in his hands.

Robin looked at her "I wouldn't even know where to begin to look for someone to teach her".

Marian sighed "Well we have to find someone, before she hurts herself or someone else" she explained "I'm afraid for her"

As Robin and Marian discussed it they failed to notice the young girl in question was listening. Picking up what they said wrong, Sierra turned and left running into the forest surrounding the merry men's camp.

Sierra was running through the trees and it wasn't long before she got lost and started crying. People were afraid of her, she was dangerous, she might hurt someone. Scared and alone the child tucked herself in under one of the trees in the forest, eyes shut tight trying to stop her tears as she could already feel her magic crackling around her. When she stopped crying she felt a strange gust of air, it wasn't her magic but it was some type of magic.

Opening her eyes Sierra looked up to see a strange shadow standing before her. Sierra instantly back up against the tree afraid of the thing before her, the shadow offered a hand to her and instantly Sierra felt a bit calmer, whatever this was it wasn't trying to hurt her. It was offering her something, when she came closer she heard a voice, telling her of a land of magic where she would fit in all she had to do was go with the shadow. With some hesitation at first Sierra took the shadows hand.

Then the shadow began to transport her to this land of magic. Neverland.

Pan was grinning with success, Princess Tamsin had some powerful magic, and it would soon be his to control.

* * *

 _7 Years Later_

Sierra had been taught to control her magic over the years, the boy Pan appeared nice but Sierra could tell when someone was lying, and everything about Pan seemed false. She missed Robin and Marian and Little John and the rest of the merry men. Right now she wished she had come across Will Scarlett, rather than the shadow, the last time she'd seen him was 10 years ago but he always made her feel better and at least then she'd feel safe. At least she'd be able to go home. Pan didn't make her feel safe, nor did the rest of the lost boys, the only one she felt safe around was Baelfire. He was sweet and looked out for her. Currently he was looking for a way for them to escape Neverland, she only saw him on occasion, he was hiding from Pan.

" _Psst_ " Sierra heard, looking behind her at the trees she saw Bae standing there "Sierra, come on" Baelfire hissed at her.

Sierra looked around to see if anyone was watching before running to him. Baelfire took her hand and pulled her with him before they began running through the trees.

"Bae, where are we going?" she asked as they hurried.

"To my hide out, I've found a way to get us away from here" he told her and they quickly got to the hollowed out tree that Baelfire had been hiding under in order to stay safe. Picking up a coconut shell with holes poked in it he turned to her "I've got pans shadow trapped in here. This is our way off this land".

Sierra looked unsure "But what if we get caught, or Pan's shadow kills us?" she asked.

Baelfire put his hands on her shoulder "I'm going to get us out of here Sierra, this is the only way I can think of. You're like a little sister to me, I'm not going to let anything happen to you" he explained but Sierra still looked nervous "Do you trust me?" he asked.

Nodding her head she watched as Baelfire held out his hand "Then come with me".

* * *

 _4 Years Later_

"Neal?"

"Yes, Sierra?" Neal looked over at the nine year old who was drawing at the table in the cafe. It had been 4 years since they escaped Neverland, the bond between the two of them had grown stronger. Neal was now 18 and looked at the 9 year old as his little sister. Sierra was the only real family he'd had in a long time and he was determined to keep her safe.

Sierra looked up from her drawing "Why did we have to run?" she asked.

Neal sighed, they'd been running from town to town for a while now, they'd seen two different states. They had been taken in originally by a nice older couple who couldn't have children. The Cassidy's had looked after Neal and Sierra until Mrs Cassidy had got sick and passed on and Mr Cassidy was finding it hard to cope. Neal had overheard him talking to the foster home and so Neal made sure to get Sierra and himself out of there. He heard rumours of people being split from their siblings in those homes, he was sixteen and he felt he'd be able to take care of Sierra. They'd been running ever since. Neal knew how to drive, Mr Cassidy use to teach him.

"We had to run because someone figured out we're on our own. They would take you away from me if they caught us because I haven't got a stable home for you" Neal explained and Sierra nodded.

"Good, I don't want to be taken away" Sierra told him before going back to her drawing.

"Did you finish your reading today?" Neal asked and Sierra nodded not saying anything "Did you really?" he asked.

Looking up innocently she smiled "You aren't supposed to be drawing until you've finished" he said sternly.

Sierra huffed "But I don't want to read".

"It'll help you learn" Neal explained.

"What if I don't want to?" she asked and Neal rolled his eyes.

"You have to"

"Nope"

"Yes or I'll confiscate you're art supplies" Neal told her and Sierra glared.

"Fine" she huffed again, reaching into her bag and took out her books. Neal wanted to keep up her learning, two years in school wasn't enough. Neal had looked up books that children read for school in the Library and found a way to get them for her, not all the methods were the best but it was important for her. He also made her do some maths but she absolutely hated it. She knew enough of the basics of maths to get by in life but that was the only agreement they made as long as she kept up her other learning. She loved art though and she was pretty good at it.

As Sierra began reading to Neal from the book she had a waitress walked over "May I take your order?" she asked with a smile.

Sierra grinned up a Neal "Can I have a hot chocolate with cinnamon please?" she begged and Neal put his hand in his pocket to see how much he had. They still had to get the bus out of here so it could be risky. After estimating the bus cost he nodded to the waitress to say it was okay and ordered himself a glass of water.

It wasn't long after they had finished their drinks that they were packed up and on the way to the bus. Portland, here they come.

* * *

 _6 Years Later_

Neal was lying in the back of the car, Sierra was currently at some art school that she'd sneaked into most days. The 15 year old had got a great passion for art since coming to this world. He was going to drive to meet her at the park at 3:00 so he decided to sleep until it was time to go.

He woke up to the sound of metal scraping and the door of his car opening. Smirking as the blonde got into the car without noticing him. The sound of the car starting before pulling away, he waited before sitting up.

"Impressive. But really, you could've just asked me for the keys" Neal smirked at her startled reaction holding up his keys "Just drive. It's fine" he told her.

"I just stole your car. Your life could be in danger" the blonde told him and he smiled. She was kind of adorable with her thick glasses and tight ponytail.

"Neal Cassidy".

"Yeah, I'm not telling you my name" she snorted

"No, I don't need it to have you arrested when the robbery's in progress" he told her.

The blonde looked at him exasperated "Emma. Swan" she said reluctantly.

"Good name" he told her to which she rolled her eyes.

"So, do you just live in here, or are you just waiting for the car to be stolen?" she asked sarcastically, amusing Neal.

Neal grinned "Why don't I tell you over drinks?"

"Excuse me?" shocked she looked at him instead of the road.

Neal panicked "Hey. Eyes on the road". It was too late however and she'd ran the stop sign, if she got the car taken off of him, he'd have no shelter or way of getting around for him and Sierra. Not to mention if he was hauled off to jail, Sierra would be left alone and entirely confused.

"I am not having drinks with you. You might be a pervert" she said with disgust.

Neal laughed "I might be a pervert, but you're definitely a car thief" not that he wasn't. He couldn't turn her in without getting himself in trouble.

"I said I was sorry".

"You didn't, actually". Emma didn't know how to reply to that.

The sound of sirens cut the conversation off from going any further and Neal had to stop himself from panicking. He wasn't leaving his 15 year old sister alone with no clue as to where he went.

"Damn it" Emma said beginning to pull over

Neal looked at her "That's why I said 'eyes on the road'".

Neal noticed instantly that her tool for starting the car was still in the ignition "Screwdriver" he told her leaning over the seat pulling it out and replacing the screwdriver with the keys just before the cop reached the window.

"License and registration" the man asked.

"Hi" Emma said innocently looking at the cop sheepishly. It reminded him a little of the look Sierra gave people when trying to get away with something.

Neal leaned over quickly "Terribly sorry officer, but this is actually my car. I'm… I'm trying to, uh, teach my girlfriend how to drive stick" he told him.

The cop looked at him "She's got a lot to learn".

"I know. But, you know… Women" he said and Emma turned to him in shock.

"Alright, I hear you. It's a warning…this time".

"Yeah. Thank you so much" he said as the cop left and Neal climbed out of the back of the car getting in the front seat.

Emma looked at him outraged "What are you, some sort of a misogynist?" she asked.

"You're welcome. Oh, go. We got lucky" Neal said pointing forward and she raised her eyebrows.

"We? This isn't your car either, is it? I stole a stolen car?"

Neal smiled "Now, how about that drink?" Emma laughed slightly before starting the car again. Seeing the time on the dashboard of the car Neal saw there was 5 minutes until 3:00 "Can we call around to the park first, I've got to collect my little sister" he explained.

"You drive your sister around in a stolen car?" Emma asked and Neal shrugged.

"She's 15, not to mention, she helped me steal it" Neal stated and Emma smirked at him.

Pulling around at the park he saw Sierra standing there, getting out he let his sister climb in the back looking confused as he sat back in the passenger seat.

Neal smiled at her "Emma this is my little sister Sierra, Sierra, this is Emma. She tried to steal our stolen car" he told her making Sierra laugh.

"Nice to meet you Emma" Sierra said as she took her dark hair out of the plats they were in.

"You too" she said.

"How was your art class?" Neal asked.

Sierra shrugged "The last one I went to was better, this man knew nothing about art" she explained pulling on a leather jacket "Where are we going?"

Neal looked at her "Drinks with our new friend Emma".

"Sounds like fun" Sierra said smiling at Emma.

* * *

Sierra walked into the prison Emma was staying in. She'd discovered the visiting hours for prisoners and asked for a meeting with Emma. Sierra had ran away from Neal, she couldn't believe he'd listened to that man and left Emma. He said it was to help Emma, but Sierra thought it was because he was afraid. Afraid of the world he'd came from, afraid of seeing his father again.

It had taken 4 months for Sierra to gather up the courage to go see Emma. She was scared that Emma wouldn't want to see her, that she would tell her to leave. Finally getting up the courage, Sierra was going to see the girl she'd grew attached to over the past year.

Walking into the room where many people were meeting their loved ones. Sierra saw Emma sitting at one of the tables. Walking over Emma looked up and her and Sierra gave her a sheepish smile.

"Hello, Emma" Sierra said nervously.

"Hey" Emma said. The two of them sat in silence for a while before Emma finally spoke again "Why are you here Sierra?"

Sierra looked upset "I'm sorry" she told her "About what Neal has done, that you got caught in this. I'm not going to leave you though, I'm not going to abandon you" she told her.

"You're only sixteen, Sierra-"

"I don't care, Emma. I can take care of myself" Sierra interrupted "Neal made his own choice" she told her.

Emma looked down "Have you spoke to him?"

Shaking her head she continued "No, I ran off when I realised what he was doing. I tried to get to you in time but I saw you being put in the police car and it was too late" Sierra explained "I haven't seen him since, he tried to contact me but I didn't want to know" she told her.

Emma nodded tears sitting in her eyes about to fall "Thank you" she said breathily trying to stop her voice from cracking.

Sierra reached across taking one of Emma's hands in hers "Of course Emma. Neal was in the wrong and when you get out of here, me and you are going to stick together and support each other" she said smiling. Emma didn't look at her again until Sierra squeezed her hand "Are you okay?"

That seemed to make Emma break, her chest started to heave as she tried to keep in her sobs and Sierra was in shock, "Emma what's wrong?" she asked "You only have 7 months left until you get out and then we'll move away and we can start everything new. Have a fresh start!" Sierra tried to comfort her.

"I'm pregnant"

Sierra was instantly quiet, she didn't know what to say. Neal had left Emma in this state, pregnant and alone.

"Emma-"

"I'm giving the baby up" Emma told her "I can't keep it, I can't raise a baby. I'm only 18 and I wouldn't know how, I've had no good parenting examples. I mean my birth parents left me at the side of a highway. I can't mess up this child's life, I won't" she cried

Sierra was quiet again for a while letting the information sink in before speaking "Yeah Emma but both of us know what the system is like, maybe your child would have a better chance with us. I mean we love each other, you're the best friend I've ever had, we'll love the baby. You already do, I know it" Sierra told her.

Emma nodded "I do, which is why I can't screw this up" she said putting her free hand on her stomach "And they won't be in the system, It's a closed adoption. The agency has already found the child a family. He or she will have their best chance".

"You sure?"

"It's for the best"

Nodding Sierra smiled sadly "We'll get through this together Emma. I'll visit when I can, I'll try and find us a head start in our new life, choose a new destination to live".

"Tallahassee" Emma said instantly "I like the beach" she explained.

"And it's kind of a fuck you to Neal?" Sierra smirked.

Emma snorted "Kind of"

"Then let's do it"


	2. Welcome to Storybrooke

**Summary: Emma is not the only child of Snow White and Prince Charming raised an orphan. However her older sister Sierra wasn't given up for the greater good but stolen from her crib during the war with King George and the Evil Queen and left in the middle of the Enchanted Forest. She led a different life than her sister and then the curse came...**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters**

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who followed, favourited or reviewed this story. Your support means a lot.**

* * *

Sierra was standing at kitchen counter pouring out two glasses of wine and setting out the cupcake she had got for Emma. It was tradition on their birthdays to buy each other a giant cupcake and they'd split it between each other. Emma always got a chocolate sponge with vanilla icing, Sierra typically got a red velvet cupcake with chocolate icing and Henry got a homemade cupcake from his Aunt with blue icing and a green smiley face. It looked like crap but it always made Henry laugh and the 10 year old loved it so much. Both Emma and Sierra were orphaned at birth, neither of them enjoyed making a big deal about their birthdays but having a family was new to them so celebrating it as a family was important.

Emma had text her to say she was on her way home so Sierra had begun to set up their usual tradition, Henry was in his room getting his mothers presents. Emma had been working late tonight and Sierra had been working earlier that morning, finishing the mural she had painted for some school in the area. She had wanted to finish it today in order to get an earlier shift at the bar so she could be home at the same time as Emma. Henry had been at a friend's until Sierra could come and collect him. Paid by the school today and tomorrow the money from the bar would be in her account, she was hoping that Emma, Henry and herself could go on a small vacation somewhere. To celebrate how far they'd came in 10 years.

Placing the blue star candle in the middle of the cupcake Sierra looked at the packet again. She'd saw it in the bakery today and something about it had called to her, something of home. She couldn't remember what it reminded her of, maybe one of the stories, but she hoped it would bring them luck so Sierra had bought it as well.

Sierra heard the door open, hearing Emma kick off her shoes before walking into the room. Seeing her dress had some wet marks on it Sierra smiled sympathetically "Another runner?" she asked.

Emma snorted "Yeah" she said walking over and looking at the candle "What's with the star?" she asked.

"Thought you could make a wish" Sierra joked before she began humming when you wish upon a star.

Emma laughed "Alright calm down Jiminy" she told her and Sierra grinned as Henry came running out setting the presents on the table and attacking his mother in a hug "Hey kid how was school?"

"The same as it always is, now blow out your candle" Henry pulled her to the counter making Emma laugh as they looked at the cupcake.

Hugging Emma, Sierra spoke again "Happy Birthday Sis, now don't forget to make a wish, me and Henry would be disappointed" she pointed at her.

"Another banner year" Emma spoke before leaning down closing her eyes before blowing out the candle. As she did the doorbell rang and Sierra looked at the door before looking at Emma.

"That was quick" she joked and Emma rolled her eyes before walking past her to the door "I bet it's your knight and shining armour here to sweep your feet" she teased "You could have wished for one for me as well" she whined making Henry laugh at his Aunt as she winked at him and passed him his hot chocolate with cinnamon.

"The problem is you don't want _one_ " Emma said with a cheeky grin over her shoulder and Sierra gave a sarcastic laugh in reply.

Sierra had decided to begin dividing up the cupcake when she heard Emma open the door.

"Uh? Can I help you?"

"Are you Sierra Cassidy?"

"Nope, Emma Swan. Who are you?"

"My name's Matilda. I'm her daughter" the girls voice replied. Sierra's head snapped up at that statement and Henry looked at his Aunt in shock "Does she live here?" they heard as they heard footsteps walk into their apartment and the door close. Emma was following behind a small girl with dark hair carrying a book. Sierra was frozen as Henry looked from his girl to his aunt and Emma focused on the child who'd just walked into their apartment.

"Whoa! Hey, kid! Kid! Kid! My sister doesn't have a daughter. Where are your parents?" Emma asked the girl who appeared to be making herself comfortable in their house.

"Ten years ago. Did you give up a baby for adoption?" she asked and Sierra took in a sharp inhale of air. She knew that her past had just threw itself right back at her as Emma looked at Sierra in shock, she could tell by the look on her sisters face that she had "That was me" they young girl looked at Sierra who was still frozen. Taking a gulp of her wine, Sierra looked at the three faces looking at her before focusing on the girl claiming to be her daughter.

There was a definite similarity between them, they looked alike, besides her daughters red hair "Give me a minute" she stated before turning and heading to the bathroom. Emma watched Sierra in shock as she fled the room and going into the bathroom. The young girl with blue eyes stood there with a small smile on her face as she looked at Emma who was still trying to get over her own shock knowing that her sister probably felt worse.

Smiling at the girl, Emma looked at her son "Would you get Matilda-"

"I prefer Tilly" the girl said kindly.

Emma still slightly shook by the whole thing nodded "Right, Tilly, would you mind getting Tilly something to drink while I talk to your Aunt?" she asked and Henry nodded before politely asking the girl to sit. Emma turned instantly and went to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Sierra, it's me, open up" Emma called to her and she heard the click on the bathroom lock. Walking in she saw Sierra sitting on the edge of the bath with her head in her hands "Sierra, I don't even know what to say. Why didn't you tell me? Who was the father?" she asked and Sierra looked up wiping tears from under her eyes.

"I didn't tell you because if I ignored it, it didn't hurt as much. I gave her up Emma, she probably hates me" Sierra whispered breaking Emma's heart who sat beside her and wrapped an arm around the younger girl trying to sooth her.

Shaking her head "That young girl doesn't hate you, she just wants to meet you. Sierra, you know as well as I do that if we'd had that chance to find our parents we would have. She's curious about who you are" Emma stated and Sierra nodded "I'm curious as to when this happened?" she asked.

Sierra sighed shakily "A month I think after you'd been given your sentence, I still couldn't work up the courage to go visit you and I was ashamed at myself for not going to see you, disgusted at Neal for abandoning you and I just wanted to do something. So I sneaked into some dodgy bar, they didn't even question my age or anything but they gave me alcohol and I sat in the corner and drank it. I didn't like it all that much, didn't see what all the fuss was about and then some older guy came over and started talking to me he had to be in his 20's, you and Neal would have kicked his ass for even thinking about talking to me. I think that's why I did what I did, I rebelled against what you two would have thought because I couldn't cope with how I was feeling. I don't know what his name was, just some brunette guy in a leather jacket, I lied about my age, said I was 18 and he joked about me not being legal to drink and I said if it was England I could, anyway we spent the night together" Sierra explained and Emma smiled sympathetically.

"Were you drunk, did he take advantage of you?" Emma asked worriedly and Sierra shook her head.

"No, he bought me another drink but I barely touched it. I made the first move, I kissed him and he suggested leaving, he wasn't pressuring me or anything, I should have said no but I agreed" Sierra told her "I woke up the next morning shitting my pants, got up quietly and left. I didn't even know when I came to visit you three months later, I was still bleeding, it was light but still there, everything still seemed normal. But when I noticed the extra weight and then the bleeding stopped completely, I took a test and realised I was pregnant. That's why I stopped visiting, I got too big for you not to notice, I didn't want you to be disappointed in me" Sierra looked at her hands "I thought about what you said, organising an adoption where they already find the family before you give birth. They even found someone willing to pay my medical expenses which was freaking me out because I didn't know how I was going to give birth to her and pay for medical bills. I gave her up a month before you were out of prison. I wanted to keep her, I told you that we could keep Henry but then I thought, I didn't have a job and we'd be living in a car with a baby, maybe two if you changed your mind, a 16 and 18 year old with two babies and I was already worrying about medical expenses which would probably be twice as bad after she was born. I couldn't do it" Sierra shook her head with tears wiping them away quickly "I had to give her, her best chance".

Emma nodded "I understand that, it was you who convince me not to give Henry up. I put him in foster care until I could provide a more stable environment for him" Emma admitted and Sierra smiled sadly at her "If you'd told me I would have supported you, we could have raised her too".

"I know, but I broke into the adoption agency to see her file, she was given to a new family 2 weeks after she was born. As far as the agency was aware, she was in a safe environment and that was all I needed to know" Sierra bit her lip "I didn't want to mess up her life" she explained.

"Well now she's out there" Emma said and Sierra took another shaky breath "You need to handle this. You gave her up for adoption Sierra and you have to face her. She has a family and they are probably worried about her" Emma looked in Sierra's blue eyes and Sierra nodded.

"I know" Sierra breathed "It's just difficult".

Emma hugged her sister tight to her "We'll get through this together" she supported and Sierra asked Emma to give her a few seconds to clean up before she went out there.

When Emma came back to the kitchen area of the apartment, the two ten year olds were sitting at the counter looking at the big book Tilly had brought with her. Henry had his hot chocolate and Tilly a glass of orange juice. Her son and the red haired girl seemed to be discussing something. Emma couldn't help but wonder if this is what their family would have looked like if Tilly hadn't been put up for adoption. Would Sierra and Emma come home from work and see the babysitter watching over Tilly and Henry as they did their homework, days to the park together all four of them. Two toddlers becoming as close as brother and sister as Emma and Sierra had become. Sure it would have been difficult for the two women but Sierra had been right all those years ago in the prison, their family was enough to raise a child right, another one wouldn't be a problem.

Walking over to the two ten year olds, they both looked up as Tilly closed the book "How'd you get here, Tilly?" Emma asked.

Tilly smiled "I took the bus"

"All by yourself?" she asked and the girl shrugged as if it was nothing.

"I am 10" Tilly said as if that wasn't strange for a 10 year old to travel by herself.

Emma couldn't help but smile at the girl as she gave a small laugh. She could already see some similarities to Sierra and Tilly's personality.

"Is she alright?" Tilly asked worriedly looking at the bathroom.

Emma nodded "Yeah she'll be fine, she just needs some time to sort things out in her head. You've kind of surprised her but I think it's a good surprise, she just didn't expect to ever see this day" she stated and Henry nodded at Tilly making the 10 year old smile.

"Thanks, Aunt Emma" she said freezing Emma for a minute.

Emma was about to ask what she had called her when Sierra walked out of the bathroom "You know, we should probably get going" Henry stated when his aunt and both Sierra and Emma looked confused.

"Going where?" Emma asked

"I want you to come home with me" Tilly said to Sierra with a smile before Emma got the chance to feel sorry for the kid she turned her head to her "Both of you".

Emma and Sierra shared a look "Okay, kid. I'm calling the cops" Emma stated.

Tilly shrugged "Then I'll tell them you kidnapped me".

Sierra sighed "And they'll believe you because I'm your birth mother".

Emma snorted looking at her sister "She is definitely your kid".

Glaring at Emma before turning to Tilly she said "You're not going to do that" she told her.

Tilly smirked "Try me".

Emma could tell Sierra was amused but she was also still feeling guilt. Here was the kid she'd gave up ten years before begging her to come home with her. Sierra and Emma both knew what it felt like to want to find your parents "You're pretty good. But here's the thing – that silver tongue you got there, you got that from me. Emma has this skill, let's call it a superpower, she can tell when anyone is lying, except me. I'm the queen of white lies and you, kid, are telling a big one" she stated before standing up and taking the phone from Emma, pressing the first button.

"Wait…" Tilly called out to her and Sierra stopped looking at the young girl who looked so much like herself at that age "Please don't call the cops. Please, come home with me" she begged and Sierra looked at Emma desperately before turning to girl.

Sighing Sierra gave in "Where's home?" she asked.

"Storybrooke, Maine".

"You're kidding me? Storybrooke?" Emma smirked amused

Tilly nodded "Mmhmm".

Sierra nodded "Alright, then. Let's get you back to Storybrooke" she told her "Emma-"

"No way, I am not staying behind" Emma explained "We are doing this together" grabbing her leather jacket she walked out of the room towards he bedroom and Sierra rolled her eyes.

"Alright you guys, go to the car. Sierra, I'll be out in a second, I'm driving" Emma stated before going to her room to get changed.

Sierra opened the door and pulled back the chair for Henry and Tilly to climb in the back which they did, climbing in the passenger seat of Emma's car she looked back at her daughter and nephew before noticing the book in her lap she smiled.

"What's that?" Sierra asked and Tilly smiled at her.

"It's a history book of the enchanted forest, that's where you and Emma come from" she told her and Sierra had to hold back the shock from her face.

Choking slightly she coughed before asking "What?"

"It explains all about you being stolen from your parents and them putting Emma in the magic wardrobe so that she could find you and break the curse" Tilly said and Sierra looked shocked and Henry seemed to believe her although the boy had always had a great imagination, before she could ask anything else however Emma showed up again.

"Alright, Storybrooke..." Emma said as if the name was ridiculous.

Beforehand, Sierra would have agreed. Now she wasn't so sure. Tilly knew she was from the enchanted forest, that wasn't possible. There was no way Robin would have taken her from her parents either, he wasn't someone that would kidnap children.

Sierra had tuned out the conversation out until the news of the book came up again.

"I'm not ready for some fairy tales?" Emma asked her amused

Tilly looked at her "They're not fairy tales. They're true. Every story in this book actually happened".

"Of course they did" she said disbelievingly.

Henry gave his mom a serious look "Use your superpower. See if she's lying".

Emma glanced at him before looking back at the girl and then the road "Just because you believe something, doesn't make it true".

"That's exactly what makes it true" she stated "You should know more than anyone".

"Why's that?"

"Because you're in this book and so is Sierra".

Emma looked at Sierra who didn't look at Emma this time "Oh, kid. You've got problems" Emma stated.

Tilly wasn't insulted however as she smiled replying "Yep. And you're going to fix them".

* * *

 _"When we reach the cell, stay out of the light. And whatever you do, do not let him know your name. If he knows your name, he will have power over you. Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpelstiltskin! I have a question for you" The man leading the couple called to the man._

 _Rumpelstiltskin climbed down the bars like an animal "No, you don't. They do. Snow White and Prince Charming… You insult me. Step into the light and take off those ridiculous robes" his voice called to them._

 _Stepping forward Snow White and Prince Charming reveal themselves to the caged man._

 _Rumpelstiltskin giggled "That's much better"._

 _David decided to address the issue of why they came "We've come to ask you about the…"_

 _"Yes! Yes! I know why you're here! You want to know about the Queen's threat" Rumplestiltskin cut him off._

 _"Tell us what you know" Snow urged him._

 _Rumpelstiltskin giggled again "Ooh, tense, aren't we? Fear not! For I can ease your mind" he leaned forward "But… It's going to cost you something in return"._

 _"No! He's just a waste of time"._

 _"What do you want?"_

 _Both David and Snow answered at the same time_

 _Rumplestiltskin's sing-song voice rang again "Oh… The name of your unborn child?"_

 _"Absolutely not!"_

 _"Deal! What do you know?"_

 _They answered again David looked to Snow in surprise_

 _Rumplestiltskin then began to spin his horror story of the queen's curse adjusting the truth slightly "The Queen has created a powerful curse. And it's coming. Soon, you'll all be in a prison. Just like me, only worse. Your prison, all of our prisons, will be time. Time will stop, and we will be trapped. Someplace horrible, where everything we hold dear, everything we love, will be ripped from us while we suffer for all eternity. While the Queen celebrates, victorious at last" he said darkly "No more happy endings"._

 _"What can we do?" Snow asked worried_

 _Rumpelstiltskin answered "We can't do anything"._

 _"Who can?"_

 _Rumpelstiltskin reached towards Snow "That little thing, growing inside your belly"._

 _Reaching for Snow's pregnant belly David quickly grabbed his sword and slashes his hand away with it._

 _"Next time, I cut it off" the Prince warned._

 _Rumpelstiltskin looked angry "Tsk tsk. The infant is our only hope. Get the child to safety" he told them "Get the child to safety and on its twenty-eighth birthday, the child will return with the help of its sister. Your children will find you and the final battle will begin" he stated and began laughing uncontrollably._

 _Snow and Charming were both struck with shock for a moment. Their firstborn was so rarely mentioned nowadays. Of course the two parents were still searching endlessly for her but hope was dwindling._

 _David snapped out of it first. Believing the Dark One was mocking them he grabbed Snow's arm "We heard enough. We're leaving" he explained._

 _Snow White and David headed quickly for the dungeon's exit. However Rumplestiltskin calmed down and started shouting for them._

 _"Hey! No! We made a deal! I want her name! We had a deal! I need her name! I want her name!" he yelled and the two of them stopped "Tell me, what's her name?"_

 _Snow turned to him "Emma. Her name is Emma."_

 _Rumpelstiltskin grinned "Emma…"_

 _He'd seen it. Them putting the child in the wardrobe to protect her. It was more clear now that he knew her name. He saw the young girl going to look for the saviour, he'd saw the blonde girl entering the cursed town with the brunette by her side and two children, the pulse of energy and everything changing._

* * *

They had arrived in Storybrooke and after a brief discussion with Tilly's shrink they realised that Tilly was the Mayor's daughter. The bloody mayor! As they walked up to the house Tilly admitted that her mother only pretended to love him breaking both Sierra and Emma's hearts and Sierra not wanting to believe that to be true and looking assure her daughter told her that it wasn't true. Soon after a woman with dark hair in a grey dress came running out of the house calling Tilly's name and instantly drew her into a hug. The look on her face looked truly to be one of relief and Sierra couldn't believe for a second that woman didn't love her daughter but maybe she just wasn't seeing what happened behind closed doors.

One thing was certain though. The complicated relationship of Matilda and her adoptive mother must have had something to do with that storybook of Tilly's. If it was what she said it was, if it had the history of the enchanted forest, then Tilly had to know her mother looked just like the evil queen. When Sierra had lived with Robin and the merry men, she and Little John had been in a small village when she'd arrived. He'd told her to keep her head down and drag no attention towards herself. If Tilly knew, she probably just didn't want to have a villain as a parent, they were said to be cold hearted, how could they love?

Sierra had never really saw that about villains. They were people who just hadn't had the chance to love or to have felt love. The Evil Queen had clearly felt that love for her daughter but Tilly couldn't see past what she was supposed to believe. Villains were Evil and that was the end of the story.

"Are you okay, Mattie? Where have you been? What happened?" the woman asked quickly clearly worried as she checked her daughter for injury.

"I found my real mom!" Tilly shouted pushing past her and running to her house.

The dark haired woman stood up and looked at Emma who was standing closer to her "Y-you're Mattie's birth mother" she asked.

Emma shook her head "You're barking up the wrong tree lady, I'm just the sister" she said gesturing to Sierra.

"Hi" Sierra said awkwardly and the tension around them was thick.

The man behind the woman awkwardly excused himself to go check on Tilly and Sierra wished she had that opportunity to walk away.

"How would like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?" Regina said to Sierra who gave a small helpless smile.

"Got anything stronger?" Sierra replied and Emma snorted when both ladies looked at her.

Emma smiled awkwardly before turning to Sierra "Are you alright here?" she asked and Sierra nodded "Ring me when you're done, I'm going to go for a walk about the town" Emma told her.

Her eyebrows furrowed "It's late, I doubt anywhere is open" Sierra said "Are you sure you don't want to stay here or in the car?"

Shaking her head "No it's okay, I'll let you discuss this and see you when you're ready to leave or just call me and Henry and I will come back" Emma said and Sierra nodded.

"Actually, can I go see if Tilly is okay" Henry asked his mom and Emma didn't know what to say when Henry turned to the dark haired woman "If that's okay with you?" he asked.

The woman smiled "Yes, of course, she's the first bedroom at the top of the stairs" the woman answered and when he looked to Emma again she nodded as Henry walked up to the house. Turning to head down the street, Emma began walking down the road. Sierra turned back to the evil queen who gestured for Sierra to enter the house.

Walking in, Sierra couldn't help but admire the grandness of the building, whatever life her daughter lived when she gave her up she wanted it to be the best but this was not what she expected. The mayor's daughter and living in something that appeared to be as close to a mansion as Sierra was ever going to get to seeing the inside of one.

"So I don't actually know your name?" the evil queen stated and Sierra was shocked.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, Sierra Cassidy" she held out her hand and the woman shook it.

"Regina Mills" she offered her name.

Sierra and Regina moved further into the house and Regina went to get two glasses and began to pour out the cider.

Sierra who felt more tense with the silence decided to ask "How did she find me?"

Regina shook her head "No idea. When I adopted her, she was only two weeks old. Records were sealed. I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact" Regina judged the situation handing Sierra the drink.

Sierra looked down at the glass answering "You were told right" before looking at the woman. It wasn't entirely the truth, she just couldn't face what she'd done. She wanted to avoid awkward meetings with her daughter like this. It was also why she didn't try to get a stable relationship, if she got pregnant again, tried to settle down with a new family, she'd feel too guilty.

Regina nodded believing her "And the father?" she asked

"There was one" Sierra answered. Again, the truth, she just didn't know who he was.

"Do I need to be worried about him?" Regina asked suspiciously.

Shaking her head, Sierra replied "Nope. He doesn't even know, I couldn't tell him if I wanted to. No contact details, I didn't even really know him, I was a kid who made a bad decision and ended up with a kid that I was unprepared to take care of" Sierra explained.

Nodding the woman looked at her sternly "Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Cassidy?" she asked.

"Absolutely not" Sierra answered and while it was the truth, her heart wasn't in it. She wished she hadn't gave her daughter up, she wished that she could see her daughter even if just every once in a while.

Regina nodded and they were saved from any other awkward conversation by the Sheriff coming back down the stairs. He walked over to the two women looking briefly at Sierra before looking at Regina.

"Madam Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little girl, Matilda's fine" the Sheriff answered "She's just playing with her new friend".

Regina smiled stiffly "Thank you, Sheriff".

The Sheriff nodded before leaving the two women alone. Sierra and Regina headed into a different room. The sitting room was just as grand as the front room, in brown wood with books lining the walls. Regina took a seat gesturing for Sierra to sit across from her.

Smiling a false but kind smile at Sierra she spoke "I'm sorry she dragged you out of your life. I really don't know what's gotten into her" the woman shook her head.

Sierra smiled back "She's having a rough time. It happens, me and my sister have had them and her son Henry" she excused.

Regina nodded "You have to understand. Ever since I became mayor, balancing things has been tricky. You have a job, I assume?" she asked

Sierra shrugged "Uh, I keep busy" she replied, she had on and off art projects and a job at a bar.

"Imagine having another one on top of it. That's being a single mom. So I push for order. Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for her own good. I want Mattie to excel in life. I don't think that makes me evil, do you?" the woman asked with a desperate look in her eyes and Sierra felt sympathy for her. Whatever was going on between Mattie and Regina it clearly hurt the woman to be called Evil by her own daughter.

Sierra shook her head "I'm sure she's just saying that because of the fairy tale thing" she answered

Regina tilted her head slightly "What fairy tale thing?" she asked.

"Oh, you know. Her book" Sierra answered and Regina looked no more enlightened. Sierra began to question how much Regina listened to Tilly "How she thinks everyone's a cartoon character from it. Like her shrink is Jiminy Cricket" Sierra answered.

Regina gave her a blank look "I'm sorry. I really have no idea what you're talking about" the woman answered. Sierra felt her stomach twist, Regina was lying to her. She felt it. She couldn't tell when someone was lying like Emma could but she could see through a bad lie. As she told Tilly, she was the queen of the silver tongue, she was the only person who'd ever successfully lied to Emma. It was mainly during the time when she was pregnant with Tilly. Maybe Regina was lying because she was afraid Sierra was a threat, but maybe she was lying because she wanted to hide how bad the relationship between Tilly and her really was. That worried Sierra. Did she ever really listen to her daughter or did she just pawn her off on a therapist and hope for the best? Regina may love her daughter but everything wasn't okay.

But Sierra had gave up her right to question it so she just smiled "You know what? It's none of my business. She's your kid. And I really should be heading back" Sierra said taking out her phone and texting Emma.

"Of course" Regina replied standing up, she was basically ready to kick Sierra out the door.

"Henry, we're going" Sierra called up to her nephew and she heard his feet running down the stairs.

Regina smiled "Thank you for bringing her back, nice to meet you Henry" she told the boy who smiled and nodded. Sierra looked at him curiously, Henry was anything but shy, so she didn't know why he wasn't speaking.

Opening the door for them, Sierra and Henry left the house and Sierra felt her chest tighten as she looked up at the window to see her daughter there watching before the curtain closed over.

Arriving at the yellow bug she saw Emma already in the driver's seat and Sierra let Henry in first before she climbed into the passenger seat. Emma watched her sister trying to get a read on her before asking.

"How did the conversation go with..."

"Regina Mills" Sierra filled in and Emma nodded "It was awkward but she asked the type of questions you'd expect".

Emma nodded again before looking confused "I've never been in this situation, what type of questions are those?" Emma asked and Sierra rolled her eyes with a smile at the older girl.

"She wanted to know if I was competition for Tilly's affection basically" Sierra said as she drove and Emma scoffed "Ridiculous right, I mean this kid just showed up on my door, I didn't go looking for her".

"Yeah but she's Evil, she's afraid of you and mom putting a stop to what she's done" Henry added.

"Henry" Emma scolded before glancing over at Sierra. Emma eyed the girl she considered a sister "But you love that kid Sierra, there is no fooling me and probably not her, if you didn't want her there if you didn't care you wouldn't have personally seen the kid home. You wanted to check out what type of life Tilly had, if giving her up was the right thing" Emma read Sierra like a book judging by how she decided to look out the window rather than explain to Emma that she'd got it correct "Look Sierra, whether it was your intention or not, you are competition for that kids affection right now. Her relationship with Mayor Mills is clearly complicated at the minute and she felt the need to find you. Now she's got you, she won't let you go that easy, I mean she went to Boston to tell you about a curse that sounds insane-" Emma said glancing in the back and noticing something, she laughed before reaching into the back and grabbing the leather bound book from beside Henry with the words ONCE UPON A TIME on the front "The kid isn't letting you go that easy" she lifted the book towards Sierra.

Emma looked over and shook her head with a small smirk "Sneaky bastard" she said before looking back at the road. Emma gasped and Sierra just saw a blur of white on the road before they hit the Storybrooke sign.

* * *

Sierra woke up to blue lights flashing as she sat up, looking over she saw some man looking over Emma and Tilly's storybook lying on the ground in front of her, looking back she saw the back of the car was open and Henry wasn't there, looking about she saw him with the sheriff talking away. Picking it the book she flicked through it noticing all the pages were alright and not ruined. She wanted Tilly to get it back in one piece.

"So you're up alright" she recognised the voice as the Sheriff's from earlier. The lights outside were still too bright for her liking but she could handle them for now. Henry was beside him and hugged her instantly.

"Aunt Sierra, your okay" he replied and Sierra hugged him tightly.

"I'm good Henry" she comforted before looking to the Sheriff "And yeah Sheriff, I'm fine, a little shaken about but alright," Sierra said looking at Emma "Is Emma going to be okay?"

The Sherriff nodded "The paramedic said she looks fine, no sign of any damage" he explained and Sierra let out a sigh of relief.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked and Sierra nodded.

"Uh yeah, there was something on the road, we spotted it too late and spun off and was stopped by your lovely sign" Sierra said feeling a twinge in her neck from whiplash probably "abruptly stopped might I add" Sierra said as she saw the paramedic remove Emma from the car and begin to bring her towards the police car "Uh, what the hell is happening" Sierra gestured towards her sister.

Graham looked to where she was referring even if there was really no need to before looking back to her "Reckless driving and abuse of the town property" he explained and Sierra looked outraged.

"There was something on the road!" Henry shouted.

"I wasn't here to see that and neither of you could tell me what it was" Graham said and Sierra glared at him.

"It was a wolf!" Henry said exasperated.

Graham sighed "Look just drive the car behind me to the station and you can stay with her" he explained and Sierra huffed.

"Alright" she agreed before hopping over to the driver seat and turning on the car as Henry got in beside her. Graham closed the back of the car for them before heading to his car.

Sierra had been sitting in the station for about an hour when Graham walked in with cups of coffee and set one in front of her and set as hot chocolate in front of Henry. She raised an eyebrow at him before looking at the cup.

"What's this for?" she lifted it and took a sip.

Graham smiled "I thought you could use it considering your sleep wasn't necessarily a peaceful one" he said "And for locking your sister and mother up in a jail cell" he explained and Sierra smiled at that and he looked to Henry "Sorry if you don't like cinnamon, Tilly does and I'd ordered it before I thought" he stated.

Henry grinned "I love cinnamon".

"I can't forgive you for that unless Emma does" Sierra shrugged and he grinned.

"You're pretty loyal" he said and Sierra nodded.

"We've been to the wars together, Emma and I" she explained "I have her back, she has mine, it's been that way for as long as I've known her".

Confusion made its way onto the man's face "I thought she was your sister?" he asked.

Sierra laughed "She is just not by blood. We met when I was 15, we're both orphans who wanted to stay away from the system so we kind of stuck together when we met through a mutual... person" Sierra told him, Henry knew she was talking about his dad but the man raised an eyebrow to which Sierra just smiled and offered a shrug "Sierra Cassidy, nice to meet you".

"Graham Humbert" he nodded and Sierra took another sip of the warm beverage "Are you sure you don't want to be checked into grannies to get a few hours rest?" Graham asked and Sierra shook her head.

"No, I'll wait until Emma wakes up" Sierra sat putting her feet on the desk and sipping her drink. Graham looked disapproving but Sierra just stared waiting for him to say something and Henry laughed at his Aunt when the phone rang.

Picking it up Sierra grinned "Sherriff station" she answered before Graham snatched it off her and she gave a cheeky smile "I could be a great Sherriff" she whispered dramatically and Henry laughed again as he put the phone to his ear.

"Mayor Mills," he answered and Sierra pulled a face making him laugh "Uh no, slight problem with some drunk and disorderly, nothing I can't handle" he said and Sierra gave him a cold look again but more playful this time "Alright, speak to you later".

"The Queen call you on a regular basis does she?" Sierra teased "My god I wish I was close to royalty".

Graham rolled his eyes "You don't stop talking do you?" he asked and Sierra shook her head with a smirk, "If you'll excuse me, I've got to do a drive about the town, I'm taking the keys to your sisters cell so don't think of doing anything crazy like trying to break her out" Graham got up and left.

Sierra snorted when he was gone "Like I'd need keys" she said rolling her eyes at Henry as if it was ridiculous and Henry smiled. "You should get some sleep Henry, you've been up all night and your mother will kill me for not booking us into that inn" Sierra told him and gestured to the sofa. Henry was surprisingly compliant and went to lie down, he was asleep within minutes.

After that Sierra lent down to pick up Tilly's book she began flicking through it. It looked interesting, she instantly flicked to Robin's story to try and see what Tilly meant about her being taken from her parents when another man walked in and introduced himself as Marco. Instead of being rude she had to set the book down again and began a conversation. It wasn't long before Emma woke up which she was alerted to by the other guy in the cell speaking.

"What are you looking at sister?"

"Hey, Leroy! Manners. We have a guest" Marco answered before looking at Sierra again "so you are, Tilly's mother and aunt?" he smiled at Emma and Sierra nodded "How lovely for her to have you back in her life" Marco told them.

Sierra shrugged "Actually, I was just dropping her off" Sierra looked down and Emma wanted to go over and comfort her sister.

Leroy snorted "Tch, don't blame ya. They're all brats, who needs 'em" he stated. Emma glared at the man, as did Sierra who was about to say something when Marco interrupted.

"Well, I'd give anything for one" Marco told them "My wife and I, we tried for many years. But, uh, he was not meant to be" he explained sadly and Sierra rested a comforting hand on Marco's shoulder.

Leroy interjected again "Well cry me a river" and Sierra and Emma were both about to snap when the Sheriff walked in.

Unlocking Leroy's cell he spoke "Leroy! If I'm going to let you out, you need to behave. Put on a smile and stay out of trouble" he stated.

Leroy gave the man a sarcastic smile as he passed him before leaving.

Emma looked outraged, gesturing at her cell "Seriously?" she asked

Graham shrugged with an amused smile "You destroyed town property"

"There was a wolf standing in the middle of the road" Emma told him.

"That's what Henry said!" Sierra nodded to her nephew asleep on the sofa.

Amused Graham's smile grew "A wolf. Right" he agreed.

Before they could say anymore, Regina entered calling for the Sheriff "Graham! Tilly's run away again. We have to… What are they doing here? Do you know where she is?" Regina asked angrily when she spotted Sierra.

Dryly, Sierra replied "Honey, I haven't seen her since I dropped her at your house. And, I have a pretty good alibi" her hand gesture implying she hadn't left the station.

"Yeah, well, she wasn't in her room this morning" Regina stated.

Sierra scoffed folding her arms "Well I didn't kidnap her if that's what you're asking" Sierra growled at the woman who was beginning to get on her nerves.

Emma interrupted before the conversation could get out of control "Did you try her friends?" she asked.

Regina shrugged "She doesn't really have any. She's kind of a loner".

Looking at Regina sadly Sierra stated "Every kid has friends".

"Did you check her computer? If she's close to someone, she'd be emailing them" Emma said, she knew not only Regina but Sierra was worried about the young girl as well.

Regina raised an eyebrow at her "And you know this how?" she asked accusingly.

Emma gave her a dry look, she didn't appreciate being accused, directly or indirectly, when she was trying to help "Finding people is what I do. Here's an idea. How about you guys let me out and I'll help you find her" Emma gave them an innocent look and Sierra laughed at her sister.

"Fine, but I don't want her involved" Regina looked to Sierra who narrowed her eyes at Regina and Emma glared at her.

"Hey-"

"It's alright, Emma" Sierra interrupted the blondes defence "She's just worried about Tilly. Plus someone has to keep an eye on Henry" she said and Emma looked unsure as Graham unlocked her from the cell.

"Sierra, are you sure?" Emma asked and Sierra nodded.

"Yeah, just make sure the girl's okay and gets back to her mother" Sierra said stiffly and Emma knew it must hurt to call someone else Tilly's mother and act okay with it.

Regina stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot "Alright, Miss...?"

"Swan, Emma Swan" Emma told her.

"Miss Swan, are we going to look for _my_ daughter or not?" Regina snapped and Emma had to control her anger.

Nodding her head she replied "Sure, let's go".

"I might bring Henry for breakfast" Sierra told Emma who nodded her head and Graham suggested Grannies across the road. He had a sympathetic look on his face, he must have seen on her face how much the situation with Tilly and Regina hurt Sierra.

Waiting until they left, when they were gone Sierra hit the wall with a frustrated groan. Closing her eyes she sat down with a huff, when she opened them she saw Henry looking at her sadly from the seat before he got up and sat beside his aunt and hugged her.

Sierra held him close to her, kissing the brown mop of hair on his head "Thanks Henry, your hugs always cheer me up" she told him with a smile.

Henry smiled up at her, "It's all going to work out you know," he said and Sierra looked at him curiously "Tilly knows you gave her up to give her, her best chance. Just like mom was going to do the same with me. You were too young to be able to look at all your options" Henry explained and Sierra laughed.

"How did you get so smart Henry?" she asked.

Henry shrugged "Reading and life experience" he grinned making his Aunt laugh again.

"How about some breakfast?" Sierra asked standing up and giving him a hand.

"Why don't we go find Tilly and give her, her book back?" Henry suggested.

Raising an eyebrow at her nephew she questioned "Do you know where she is?"

Henry smirked "Well she did tell me where her favourite place to hide from her mother is" he shrugged.

"And you were awake there now when all that was going on?" Sierra looked amused at the 10 year old. Henry nodded and Sierra laughed "Alright Henry," she picked up the book "Where are we headed?" she asked.

* * *

Tilly was sitting alone in her castle, when they found her. It was an old wooden castle-shaped slide at a playground along the shore and Sierra couldn't help but smile at the theme of her ideas coming through. Sierra walked up behind her, carrying her book handing it to her.

"You left this in the car" Sierra said giving her a knowing look, she knew Tilly had left it behind on purpose. Henry was about but giving them a bit of space like Sierra asked.

Tilly didn't say anything as Sierra sat down beside her. Following the young girls gaze to the clock tower she smiled sadly looking down at the young brunette "Henry told me you thought bringing Emma back would make it move, still hasn't budged huh?" she asked.

The downtrodden little girl looked up at her "I was hoping that when I brought you and Emma back, things would change here. That the final battle would begin" she said upset.

"You did huh?" Sierra asked sympathetically "And Emma is supposed to be this saviour?" Sierra asked and Tilly nodded "I'm not sure Emma is up to fighting any battles, kid" Sierra told her.

Tilly looked to her "Yes, you are. Because it's her destiny. She's going to bring back the happy endings, she brought you to me!" Tilly exclaimed and Sierra felt her heart break.

"Tilly you have to go back to your mother" Sierra told her even though it pained her "I'm glad I got the chance to meet you but I'm not your happy ending and Emma, Henry and I are going back to Boston" she tried telling her sternly.

Tilly smiled at her "You don't have to pretend. I know you like me – I can tell. You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty. It's okay. I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance" Tilly looked at her with hope in her eyes.

Smiling back at the young girl, she couldn't believe how much like Henry, Tilly was even though they didn't grow up together "How do you know that?" she asked.

"Because it's the same reason Snow White gave Emma away" Tilly answered "To give her, her best chance, finding you and breaking the curse" she explained as if it was obvious.

"Listen Tilly, this book. I don't think you should invest too much in it, the people in this town are real and so is Emma. She's not in that book. You were right about one thing, though. I wanted you to have your best chance. But it's not with me, it can't be" Sierra shook her head, she was proud of herself for holding back the tears she wanted to let go.

"You can't take me back there!" Tilly begged "Just stay with me for one week. That's all I ask. One week, and you'll see I'm not crazy, I can prove everything I said is true!" Tilly's sad face pleaded with her and tugged on Sierra's heart.

Sierra kept herself strong though "I have to get you back to your mom" she replied.

"You don't know what it's like with her. My life sucks!" Tilly complained

"Oh, you want to know what sucking is?" Sierra asked suddenly "Being left in the middle of a forest to starve only being fortunate that a man came across you, being taken from a family you grew to care for to some people who weren't very nice and when you finally find someone you think you can trust they leave and they don't even try to contact you. Look, your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard and I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you, but she does and she just wants you safe, that's hard to find" Sierra told her

Tilly looked confused "Your parents didn't leave you on in the forest. That's just where King George left you when he kidnapped you to get revenge on Snow White and Prince charming and then Robin Hood found you" Tilly explained to her and while Sierra was shocked about her knowing about Robin Hood something else came to mind.

"I thought Snow White was Emma's mother?" Sierra asked.

Tilly nodded "She is, she had you before Emma but then King George kidnapped her and refused to say where he put you but told them you were probably dead. They never gave up hope though" Tilly said to Sierra with a serious look on her face "When they put Emma in the wardrobe she appeared in the street. Your parents were trying to save her from the curse because it said she would break the curse when she turned 28 and she would find you" Tilly looked to her.

"So you think Emma, is actually my sister?" Sierra smiled at her and Tilly nodded "But, Emma is older than me?" she questioned.

"I don't know where you went after the shadow carried you away" Tilly shrugged and Sierra was shocked again but tried not to show it "So I'm not sure how that worked out but Emma was born on the day of the curse, your five years older than her, the shadow took you just before the curse" Tilly told her.

"Is that so?" Sierra couldn't help but smile.

Her red hair bounced as she nodded "Yep" she popped the p at the end. Sierra laughed making Tilly grin when they heard a car engine.

Henry came running over to them "Mom is here, on her own" Henry informed them just as Emma walked over.

"That's because your mom is great at her job" Sierra told Henry and smiling innocently at Emma.

"Apparently not as good as you, how did you know to come here?" Emma questioned her sister.

Pointing at Henry, Sierra smiled "He knew, he was pretending to be asleep the whole time" she explained.

Emma nodded "Mind if I talk to you alone for a minute?" she asked and Sierra told Henry and Tilly to play for a few minutes "Sierra-"

"Look Emma," Sierra interrupted "I know what you're going to say, but I only came here to give her back the book, have a few minutes to talk to her and then I was going to bring her back to her mom" Sierra explained before sighing and looking at Emma "But even you have to admit, it's strange how Miss Nicety turned into a woman not looking me about today and she lied to me yesterday Emma, pretending not know about this storybook thing of Tilly's. I have to question why she's lying to me, is it because she's afraid of losing Tilly or because things aren't as pretty as the name 'Storybrooke' would lead you to believe?" Sierra questioned.

Emma looked at Sierra "She's just worried about her daughter, are you saying she doesn't love her like Tilly was saying?"

"No!" Sierra exclaimed "I don't doubt that Regina loves her, but she's still lying and I think their relationship is more complicated than Regina being strict and not around enough. I'm worried about my daughter too" Sierra's face looked broken and Emma felt her heart constrict in pain for her sister "I just want to make sure she's happy and right now, with Regina, Tilly isn't happy. A happy child doesn't beg you not to take her back home".

Emma could see her point but the law was the law "We still have to take her back, what do you want to do?" Emma asked.

Sierra smiled "Tilly asked for us to stay for 1 week so she can prove this 'curse' exists, I'm willing to do that to make sure she's safe" Sierra admitted and Emma nodded.

"I can do that, but we're not letting on to Tilly or Regina that we're staying" Emma stated and Sierra agreed.

* * *

Emma got out of the car letting Tilly out to bring her back to Regina. Tilly and Sierra had already said goodbye back at the castle because Emma didn't think Regina would be pleased to see Sierra and Tilly say goodbye. The minute the door to the house opened Tilly ran inside and up the stairs.

Regina nodded "Thank you" she stated looking back at the car to see Sierra and Henry in the car.

"No problem" Emma nodded "It was actually Henry who remembered something Tilly said that suggested where she might be" Emma defended her sisters presence.

"She's seemed to have taken quite a shine to you and your sister?" Regina questioned kindly although Emma could hear the bitter tone in her voice.

Electing to ignore it Emma smiled "You know what's kind of crazy? Yesterday was my birthday and when I blew out the candle on this cupcake my sister bought, I actually made a wish. That my family would be happy-"

Regina interrupted "I hope there's no misunderstanding here" she spoke coldly.

"I'm sorry?" Emma questioned.

"I don't want you and your sister to mistake all this as invitation back into her life" Regina stated and Emma was stunned.

"Oh…"

Regina continued "Miss Swan, your sister made a decision ten years ago. And in the last decade, while she's been… Well, who knows what she's been doing" Emma's mouth nearly fell to the floor "I've changed every diaper. Soothed every fever. Endured every tantrum. She may have given birth to her, but she is my daughter" Regina told her strictly.

Emma shook her head "I was not…"

Regina interrupted her sharply once again "No! You don't get to speak. You don't get to do anything and neither does Miss Cassidy. She gave up that right when she tossed her away. Do you know what a closed adoption is? It's what she asked for. Miss Cassidy has no legal right to Matilda and she's going to be held to that. So, I suggest you get in your car, and you all leave this town. Because if you don't, I will destroy you and your family if it is the last thing I do. Goodbye, Miss Swan" her voice was cuttingly sharp as she turned on her heal.

Shocked, Emma decided to ask "Do you love her?"

"Excuse me?" Regina appeared insulted by the question.

"Tilly. Do you love her?" Emma asked again, clearer.

"Of course I love her" Regina said bitingly.

Emma nodded walking back to the car and Emma could see what Sierra was saying. Yes, Regina loved Henry, but she was holding something back. Emma could see no lie in Regina's reply but something about it screamed 'not the truth'. Getting back into the car Emma drove to Grannies B&B.

"What are we doing here?" Henry questioned.

Emma stopped the car "We're having a holiday in Storybrooke" Emma climbed out pulling the seat forward for Henry to get out and Sierra smiled at Emma mouthing thank you to her.

Walking into the inn they looked about before they heard loud voices coming down the stairs.

"You're out all night, and now you're going out again"

"I should have moved to Boston" a girl with long brown hair with a red streak in it replied.

The older woman scoffed "I'm sorry that my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the eastern seaboard" she snarked.

Sierra wanted to laugh as Emma interrupted their argument "Excuse me? We'd like a room" she stated.

The pair looked shocked as the older woman rushed forward towards her books "Really? Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally, there's an upgrade fee for the square but, as friends do, I'll wave it, a room each, together, beside each other?" the woman asked.

"Two rooms, beside each other, one with two bed if possible?" Sierra supplied her with information.

"And Square is fine" Emma added and the woman nodded.

Granny smiled at them "Now, what's the names?"

"Sierra Cassidy"

"Swan. Emma Swan"

"Emma" a man behind them said as if he knew her. When they looked at him he smiled "What a lovely name" he stated "Yours too dearie" he nodded at Sierra.

Emma and Sierra both looked confused and uncomfortable as they replied "Thanks"

Granny passed the man a roll of bills saying shortly "It's all here"

He nodded taking the money "Yes, yes, of course it is, dear. Thank you. You enjoy your stay…Emma" he said walking out.

"Creepzilla or what?" Sierra questioned quietly making Emma nod.

Henry looked at the two woman "Who's that?" he asked.

"Mr. Gold. He owns this place" the younger girl stated.

"The inn?" Emma asked.

Granny shook her head "No, the town. So, how long will you be with us?"

"A week" she stated and Sierra looked down as if she wanted to disagree "Just a week" Emma repeated looking and Sierra catching her eye and she nodded at her was a sad smile.

"Great" Granny stated before taking two keys from the wall and handing on to Emma and then Sierra.

"Welcome to Storybrooke" she told them before leading them to their room.

Three people were looking out their window when the clock hands began to move. The young girl smiled smugly from her bedroom as did the youngest newcomer in the B&B. In the room beside his, his Aunt noticed too. Her mind drifting to all the information her daughter had told her before and knowing the moment her daughter had been waiting for. It couldn't be true, but there was no other way she could have know what she had. Sierra was about to realise what she'd agreed to when they decided to stay.

* * *

 **A/N: So I finally got another update done. I'd had to re-write this chapter because before I was stuck and I didn't want to give up on this. I didn't originally plan to create Matilda, I was still going to have Emma give up Henry but this worked better and so to get them to Storybrooke I created Matilda. Although Emma will still be the saviour and Henry will still play a lot of the significant parts to breaking the curse. Matilda knows her Aunt will break the curse and she believes she's already gave Matilda her happy ending by bringing back her mother. I don't want to be one of those stories that decrease Emma and Henry's significance. Emma keeping Henry and adding Matilda was just an important way to keep the story on track. I hope you liked Tilly and this new chapter. By the way, Tilly's father is a part of the story but there will be no love triangle between Sierra, Hook and the father like there was for Hook, Neal and Emma. It was just a onetime thing between them. You are welcome to take a guess at who it is but I won't say yes until the story gets that far.**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, it really helped me continue this story and I love getting emails to say when someone has followed, favourited or reviewed.**


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